A three-year-old British boy has reportedly died after being struck by a screen in a Turkish restaurant in Shanghai.

The boy, who also held a Turkish passport, was killed at around 9pm on Tuesday at the Kervan restaurant on Jiujiang Road, near the Chinese city's historic Bund area. He had reportedly been dining at the restaurant with his mother and father and family friends.

A spokesman for the UK consulate in Shanghai confirmed the death of a British national and said officials were offering consular assistance to family members. The spokesman declined to give the victim's name.

The three-year-old died after being "struck by a screen that fell", according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper.

"Witnesses said the boy may have accidentally touched the screen before it fell on him," the newspaper reported. "Screens are sometimes used by restaurants to divide dining areas."

The Daily Telegraph understands that the circumstances surrounding the boy's death are not being treated as suspicious.

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The Shanghai Daily said the boy had been "rushed away for treatment" following the incident. But Yang Lixin, a doctor from Shanghai's Huangpu District Central Hospital, said he "did not have a heartbeat" when he was admitted to the unit.

On Wednesday afternoon a restaurant employee, who gave his name as Mr Zhou, confirmed the incident and claimed that only the boy's mother had been near him when it happened.

Mr Zhou said the restaurant's Turkish owner was not available for comment.